


Where You Go To Rest Your Bones

by allyasavedtheday



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Answer: probably not, Derek Comes Back, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post - 3A, Will I ever write a fic where they don't cuddle for the majority of the plot?, also there's a hefty amount of Scott/Stiles/Derek friendship, because who doesn't need that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-17
Updated: 2013-09-17
Packaged: 2017-12-26 21:31:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/970503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allyasavedtheday/pseuds/allyasavedtheday
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek feels him take a deep, shuddering breath and then Stiles disentangles himself – though he stays within the circle of Derek’s arms. “I missed you.” he whispers, looking at Derek like he’s expecting to be kicked out at any moment.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where You Go To Rest Your Bones

Derek’s not sure what he expects when he returns to Beacon Hills. He doesn’t call Scott or Isaac or Stiles because it’s been three months of no contact and he doesn’t expect them to want to see him. He enters his new apartment alone, with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. This place is smaller than the loft, in a safer part of town too - more inconspicuous.

Cora doesn’t come back with him but he understands. She deserves to finish high school without risking her life every week – he wishes the same could be true for the pack. So he leaves her with the pack that had taken her in after the fire. He leaves her with the promise to set up Skype so he can talk to her every day and the promise that he’ll come back for her someday.

She understands why he left her again. She knows that he just needed a break, that he needed time alone with his family away from the madness to build himself back up again. But she also knows that he feels a sense of responsibility to Beacon Hills, that even if Scott is an alpha now there are still things he doesn’t know; things that Derek could actually help him with. She understands that he can’t stay away from Beacon Hills knowing the place and the people in it need protecting.

So he comes home, just like he did the year beforehand, except this time he’s leaving a sister instead of searching for one. 

He spends the night hauling furniture sets from IKEA out of his car and into the apartment and then meticulously putting them together. It’s tedious and methodical but requires just enough attention that his brain doesn’t wander down the path of the million and one things he doesn’t want to think about. He finally gets his bed set up around 5am and crashes until the following evening.

After a shower, he decides to head to the supermarket since his apartment is completely devoid of food and he hasn’t eaten in almost twenty-four hours. He’s trying to decide between two types of frozen pizza when he hears them.

It’s unmistakeably Scott and Stiles one aisle over. They’re discussing the merits of different flavour Doritos with far too much enthusiasm and it makes the corners of his lips curl up  _just a bit_. Some things never change.

He decides to slip away in the opposite direction towards the cash registers before they see him when he hears Scott cut off abruptly.

"Scott? Buddy, what is it?" he hears Stiles ask - and Derek may have been gone a while but he still recognises that undercurrent of worry laced in Stiles’ words.

"Just thought I smelled something," Scott replies absently and Derek hears Stiles snort.

"We  _are_  in a grocery store surrounded by food.”

Scott huffs, “I meant  _someone_  but it doesn’t matter. I was probably just imagining it. Come on.”

Derek doesn’t move until he hears the jeep pull out of the parking lot.

 

*

It happens three more time before Derek eventually decides to make his presence known. Once when he’s gone for a run in the woods - he catches Isaac’s scent and he cuts through the trees to the open road before Isaac gets the chance to catch his. Then again at the mall when he almost bumps into Lydia and Allison while he’s shopping for new clothes. And finally when he’s picking up his dinner at a restaurant in town and he runs into Melissa and the Sheriff.

He doesn’t see them at first; he’s leaning on the counter waiting for his order and looking around the room absently when he hears a throat being cleared. He looks to his immediate left and sees them sitting at a table for two, seemingly on a date.

“Derek,” Melissa smiles warmly as the Sheriff regards him with a curious look reminiscent of Stiles. “The boys didn’t say you were back in town.”

“They don’t know,” he answers honestly.

Melissa opens her mouth to no doubt question him further but he’s saved by his order being placed on the counter. He pays quickly and turns back to the Sheriff and Melissa, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

“I’m not really in a position to ask, but could you maybe not tell them I’m back yet?”

To his surprise, it’s the Sheriff who answers him. “You can tell them when you’re ready, son, we won’t say a word.”

Derek’s too startled to respond so all he manages is a grateful nod before he darts out of the restaurant. He doesn’t know what Stiles has told his father about Derek since he learned about werewolves but whatever it is, the Sheriff certainly doesn’t think he’s a murderer anymore.

 

*

He’s been home ten days. He’s made his new apartment actually feel like a home. (There are photographs on the walls and everything) He’s skyped Cora four times and talked to her on the phone triple that. He’s read two books and already made it through an entire series on Netflix. And he’s finally ready to face the pack again.

He stands outside the McCall residence, focusing his hearing to Scott’s bedroom. Scott, Stiles and Isaac are playing video games and, even if they’re yelling at each other and the TV, Derek knows they’re happy. He wonders if his being here is going to ruin that. He really hopes not.

There’s no car in the driveway, meaning Melissa’s probably at work and the front door’s unlocked. Derek considers just waltzing in and announcing his presence but ultimately decides against it. Instead he curls his hand into a fist and raps his knuckles on the door three times.

He hears the video game being paused and Stiles’ huff and Isaac’s protests. He hears Scott sigh as he heaves himself up off the floor. The feet coming down the stairs almost sound long-suffering until-

Derek estimates Scott’s probably halfway down the stairs when he starts running. He barely has a minute to prepare himself before the door’s being wrenched open and Scott is planted in front of him, gaping like a fish.

Derek’s about to make a comment about catching flies when Scott’s face splits into an impossibly wide smile and he flings his arms around Derek. Derek stiffens in surprise - whatever greeting he thought he’d get, it wasn’t this - but when Scott shows no signs of relenting he allows himself to relax a bit and tentatively put his arms around the other boy. Around his brother.

Scott starts talking a mile a minute when he pulls away, though he still clutches Derek’s arms to keep him in place. “We missed you so much, dude! Seriously! I thought you were never coming back and I totally didn’t realise how much I actually kind of depend on you when me and Stiles don’t know what to do-“

He’s cut off by the sound of two pairs of feet thundering down the stairs and a moment later Stiles and Isaac are skidding to a halt behind Scott, staring in astonishment. Isaac must have been listening in.

Scott lets go of him and spins on his heels, bouncing a little in excitement. “ _Guys_. Derek’s back!” he states the obvious with barely contained glee.

Derek doesn’t mean to smile but Scott sounds so damn happy to see him and he never,  _ever_  thought that would happen. 

Isaac steps around Scott then and pulls him into a hug. It’s less of a death grip than Scott’s but it’s more than Derek could’ve hoped for. He and Isaac didn’t leave off on the best terms and he knows he has  _a lot_  of apologising to do. He figures this is probably a good start. When Isaac lets go he’s smiling and he genuinely does look happy to see Derek. It makes the ever-present knot in his chest loosen a little.

Derek’s eyes slide over to Stiles and he waits for whatever reaction he’s going to get. Scott elbows Stiles in the side, making Stiles roll his eyes. “Fine,” he mutters, stepping forward and hugging Derek. From the outside, Derek knows it looks like a casual hug but he doesn’t miss the way Stiles tightens his arms around him almost imperceptibly or how his hands slide softly over Derek’s arms as he pulls away.

It’s not until all three of them are standing expectantly in front of him that he realises he hasn’t said anything yet. And for some ungodly reason, he decides to open with a pathetic, “hi.” He’s really out of practice with his dramatic entrances.

But Scott chuckles and slings his arm over Derek’s shoulders, ushering him into the house. Isaac gives him an encouraging smile and Stiles rolls his eyes again – though it looks decidedly more fondly exasperated this time.

They end up in the living room. Derek sits on the edge of the armchair awkwardly while Stiles and Isaac take up the couch.

“So where’ve you been, dude?” Scott asks from the kitchen while he’s raiding the cupboards for junk food.

Even though Scott can hear him, Derek still waits until he returns from the kitchen with a packet of Oreos - which Stiles immediately snatches out of his hand once Scott is seated between him and Isaac - to answer.

“All over the place really,” Derek answers, feeling far too exposed with the way Stiles is eyeing him speculatively. “Cora strong-armed me into a road trip before we went to the pack that had been taking care of her after the fire.”

“Did she come home with you?” Isaac asks.

Derek shakes his head and tries not to let his expression drop. Judging by the sympathetic look Scott shoots him, he doesn’t manage it. “No, she decided to stay with them. It’d just be easier for her to finish school there,” he says by way of excuse.

None of them believe him but they nod all the same.

Isaac, blessedly, shifts the focus off Derek and instead begins catching Derek up on everything he’s missed. Thus far, the nemeton has only brought a few random creatures to Beacon Hills but considering what they’ve faced in the past, it was nothing they couldn’t handle. They’ve all been preparing anyways; training, researching, studying - anything they can do to give themselves an advantage.

Both Isaac and Stiles praise Scott for how well he’s adjusted to becoming an alpha and Scott smiles weakly. But Derek can see the strain, recognises it from himself. He  _knows_  Scott’s a born leader but that doesn’t change the fact that he has an immense amount of power and responsibility to deal with now. Derek makes a mental note to get Scott on his own soon so they can talk about it – he may not have been the best alpha but he remembers how his mother and Laura dealt with things. Scott’s only reference points are Derek, Peter and the alpha pack – none of whom are really out for Alpha of the Year.

When Derek mentions the darkness Scott, Stiles and Allison are supposedly meant to be feeling Scott and Stiles tense. Stiles avoids eye contact and starts jiggling his leg in a nervous habit and Scott starts playing the hem of his shirt so Derek drops it. That’s answer enough for him, unfortunately.

Derek leaves them a few hours later when he knows he’s been told all the information he’s going to get. Scott shows him to the door and pats him on the back, “We really have missed you, you know.”

Derek claps him on the shoulder and is relieved when Scott seems to understand that it means, “I missed you guys too”.

 

*

It’s around eleven o’clock at night when there’s a knock on his door. He’s too tired to listen out for who it is or try to catch a scent so he settles for looking through the peephole like a normal person. Upon seeing it’s Stiles he unlocks the door quickly.

Stiles looks up when it’s opened and he looks  _wrecked_. Derek’s about to ask what’s wrong when he takes two determined steps forward and throws himself into Derek’s arms. Derek hugs back without thinking; he lets one of his arms fit around Stiles’ waist while his other hand settles between Stiles’ shoulder blades, drawing him closer. Stiles is clung to him; one arm around Derek’s middle, another around Derek’s neck and his face hidden in Derek’s shoulder.

He’s shaking and Derek doesn’t understand what’s wrong _._  He slides his hand up from Stiles’ back and, after a moment’s hesitation, gently cards his fingers through Stiles’ hair in a vain attempt to soothe him. “Stiles, what is it?”

Derek feels him take a deep, shuddering breath and then Stiles disentangles himself – though he stays within the circle of Derek’s arms. “I missed you,” he whispers, looking at Derek like he’s expecting to be kicked out at any moment.

Stiles’ expression is too open, too raw. Derek has to believe it’s the only reason he pulls Stiles back into his arms and murmurs, “I missed you too,” against his hair.

“Can I stay here tonight?” Stiles mumbles against the skin of Derek’s neck, unsuccessfully keeping his voice from cracking.

Derek doesn’t expect that.

In the past – especially the recent past – they’ve acted as a source of comfort for one another when no one else was there. But as it is, they barely acknowledge each other as friends and those brief moments of comfort are few and far between. Not to mention much more subtle than this.

It’s a bad idea. Because the lines between him and Stiles have always been blurred. And letting Stiles stay would probably blur them even more.

And yet, he finds himself saying, “Okay.”

Derek closes the door when Stiles finally makes it fully through the threshold. Derek watches him look around the room with idle curiosity. He follows Stiles’ gaze at it tracks the photos on the walls – there’s one or two from before the fire because they’d been in Laura’s locker at school, a few more from the later years of his time in New York with Laura, a few recent ones from the last couple of months with Cora and one of himself, Erica, Isaac and Boyd. It was taken on Derek’s phone the night of Erica’s birthday when Boyd had convinced them to take her to some crappy diner. It had been a rare moment of happiness and he’s glad there’s at least a picture to prove it.

After Stiles inspects the photo for all it’s worth he turns to look at Derek and smiles softly, sadly. It’s sincere even if it doesn’t reach his eyes.

Derek follows him as Stiles wanders blindly down the hallway until he finds Derek’s bedroom. Stiles doesn’t even offer him a glance as he tips off his shoes and slips out of his jacket. He climbs into the bed without a moment’s hesitation and this should be awkward but Derek doesn’t have the energy to argue all the reasons why right now so he walks around the other side of the bed and gets in.

As soon as he’s laying down Stiles rolls over to grab hold of Derek’s arm and pulls it across him like a blanket.

Derek wants to question him. He wants to ask what the hell is going on and what’s really wrong with Stiles and why doesn’t this feel uncomfortable like it should? But Stiles is clutching his hand with a vice-like grip and Derek figures there’s probably a really good explanation for all of this so he supposes he can wait ‘til morning.

He curls himself around Stiles, resting his forehead against the nape of Stiles’ neck and feels Stiles sag with relief.

Yeah, he can wait till morning.

 

*

Derek wakes up to the incessant sound of Stiles’ phone vibrating. The room is pitch black and he takes a second for his eyes to adjust before he slips the phone out of Stiles’ hoodie pocket – Stiles is dead to the world so it’s not like he’ll answer.

Derek squints his eyes at the harsh glare of the phone screen and sees it’s Scott calling.

“Hello?” he whispers, pulling away from Stiles a bit so as not to wake him.

“Derek? Are you with Stiles?  _Is he okay?”_

He can hear the sheer panic in Scott’s voice and wonders, not for the first time, how Scott and Stiles have really been the past few months.

“He’s fine,” he assures him. “He’s asleep.”

“He’s asleep?” Scott echoes confusedly.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll be right over.”

Scott hangs up straight away and Derek spends the ten minutes he know it’ll take Scott to get to his apartment holding Stiles and watching the steady rise and fall of his chest.

Derek hears the lock turning in his front door and pays enough attention to know it’s Scott. A few seconds later he hears Scott’s light footfalls followed by the Sheriff’s heavier tread. Derek slips out from behind Stiles and stands up, pausing only to pull the covers around Stiles.

He meets Scott and Stiles’ dad in the hallway and gestures with a nod of his head. “In here,” he whispers.

Scott pushes past Derek once he gets into the room and immediately rushes to Stiles’ side, running a tender hand over his arm. The Sheriff soon follows him and crouches down next to the bed, watching his son intently.

Scott turns back around to Derek and asks, “Did he have any nightmares?”

“No, why?” Derek’s eyebrows draw together in confusion and Scott fidgets for a second before standing up and leading Derek back out into the hallway.

Derek puts a hand on Scott’s arm and forces him to stop, “Scott,  _what’s wrong?”_

“Stiles has been having nightmares.” Scott explains quietly. “This whole darkness thing he’s- he’s not coping very well. He hardly sleeps anymore and when he does it’s only because me or his dad are there.”

That explains one of the thousands of questions circling in Derek’s mind.

“But what about you and Allison? Is it happening to you too?”

“Allison won’t really talk about it with us but yeah she’s had some nightmares too…For me, I guess I just sort of feel…weary. I don’t know if it’s because of the alpha thing or because of this or stuff happening with my dad but yeah, I’m tired and stressed and I have nightmares but I’m handling it. Stiles isn’t.”

Derek can see it. The weariness in Scott’s eyes that he seems to successfully fight off for the most part – except when it comes to Stiles apparently. Scott slumps against the wall and scrubs a hand over his face. “We’re all fine during the day. It’s at night time, when the day catches up with us, that it starts to become too much. Stiles only ever sleeps a couple of hours at night now.”

“How are you coping?” Derek asks because there has to be some way for the three them to overcome this; it’s already been three months.

“I talk to Deaton mostly. Emissaries are apparently good at giving advice,” Scott adds with a rueful smile. “I think Allison talks to Lydia about it a lot. But Stiles won’t talk to anybody. He won’t tell me what his dreams are about and he laughs when I suggest he talk to Deaton. He doesn’t want to be weak and he doesn’t want anybody taking care of him but I just want my best friend to be okay,” he finishes miserably.

In that moment, Derek feels so incredibly guilty for ever leaving. Scott and Stiles only ever needed each other and they certainly didn’t need him but knowing how much of a strain this has been putting on them and that he wasn’t there to help even a little bit makes him feel awful.

“I’m sure it’ll get easier,” he tries to say encouragingly but it falls flat. Scott smiles anyway.

When the Sheriff comes out of Derek’s bedroom Scott stands up straight again.

“Derek, do you mind if he stays here for the night? I don’t want to wake him.” The Sheriff sighs heavily and looks about as tired as Scott and Stiles.

“It’s fine. I’ll make sure he gets home okay in the morning,” Derek promises.

The Sheriff gives him a grateful nod and Scott pats his arm in thanks before they make their way to the front door.

 

*

Derek sleeps fitfully for the rest of his night, he’s thinking about too many things to actually fall into anything resembling a deep sleep.

Stiles blinks into awareness a little after dawn. He rolls over into Derek’s space and stares at him like he wants Derek to make the first move and say something.

Derek’s silent for a while but in the end, there’s only one thing he really wants to know. “Did you sleep okay?”  

Stiles ducks his head and nods, absently playing with Derek’s fingers where they’re resting between them. It’s such a small, gentle touch but it’s so unlike anything they’ve ever shared before. The Stiles Derek knew would never dare touch him like this. Regardless of how muddled the lines between them got, there was still always an unspoken barrier between them. Clearly that barrier’s not there anymore.

“Why didn’t you tell me about the nightmares?” Derek asks quietly and Stiles’ eyes snap to his immediately.

“How-“

“Scott and your dad came by last night,” Derek explains. “They thought you were missing because you weren’t answering your phone. Then Scott told me you haven’t been sleeping.”

Stiles deflates and lets go of Derek’s hand. “I didn’t think it mattered,” he mumbles.

“It kind of does when you’re showing up on my doorstep and asking to stay the night,” Derek points out.

Stiles scowls at him and Derek sighs. “Will you tell me what the dreams are about?” he tries again.

“Always the same really…Sometimes I lose my dad, sometimes it’s Scott. That’s why it helps when they’re there when I wake up.” Stiles latches onto his hand again almost subconsciously and this time, Derek squeezes. “Scott’s started staying over whenever my dad’s on night shifts. It’s gotten to the point where he just climbs into my bed with me to try and keep the bad dreams away.”

“…So why’d you come here?” Derek whispers as he watches Stiles seem to try and make himself smaller.

“Well, you know, sometimes it’s my dad and sometimes it’s Scott,” Stiles exhales a rueful little laugh and meets Derek’s gaze. “Well one time, it was you.”

Derek starts and his mind instantly starts going into overdrive trying to understand _that_.

“I don’t know why,” Stiles continues. “It doesn’t make sense and I don’t know what it means…But I can sleep when Scott and my dad are around so I thought…maybe I could sleep if you were there.”

“And you did,” Derek says, voice hoarse.

Stiles quirks a little smile and nods, “Yeah.”

 

*

It becomes a thing after that.

Stiles starts coming over or asking Derek to stay the night at his. The fact that the sheriff doesn’t even try to protest is a testament to just how badly Stiles is doing. Then again, it’s not like it’s every night – just when Stiles feels like his dad or Scott needs a break.

Derek supposes it’s like he’s being used and in a sense he kind of is. But he doesn’t care. He wants to help to Stiles. He wants to comfort him. He may not understand it all completely but it doesn’t change the fact that being around Stiles calms him down. It doesn’t change the fact that he probably gets as much, if not more, out of these nights than Stiles does. So if Stiles is using him it doesn’t matter because Derek’s using Stiles right back.

After a while they start to talk to each other. Just about little, inconsequential things but it feels like the beginning of a tentative sort of friendship. Like maybe, someday, they’ll be able to talk about all the horrible things they have the misfortune of having in common.

 

*

One night he’s at Stiles’, he’s asleep in his bed and Derek’s on the floor next to it, idly flipping through a book Deaton gave Stiles, when Stiles starts having a nightmare. Derek hasn’t actually seen it happen yet. But he can barely stand ten seconds of watching Stiles toss and turn and whimper in a way that’s quickly descending into screaming. Derek kneels on the bed and shakes him gently – but hard enough to rouse him to consciousness.

Stiles bolts up into a sitting position and gasps out Scott’s name.

Derek takes hold of his shaking arms and tries to get Stiles to focus on him. “Stiles.  _Stiles,_  it’s okay, it wasn’t real. It was a-“

“I need Scott,” Stiles sobs, curling his fists in Derek’s t-shirt.

Derek takes out his phone and calls Scott quickly, using the other hand to pull Stiles in. He hardly gets an explanation out before a sleepy-sounding Scott cuts him off and says, “I’ll be right there.”

True to his word, Scott shows up not even ten minutes later in his pyjamas. He climbs onto the empty space on the bed and Derek slides Stiles out of his arms and into Scott’s easily enough. Scott holds Stiles while he cries, running placating hands over his back and hair, and Derek watches helplessly. He’d thought he’d been helping. He’d thought he’d been making Stiles better. Seeing him now, Derek knows there’s nothing he can do. He just has to wait it out with the rest of them and hope that all of this gets easier.

He settles a hand on Stiles’ back and Scott smiles wanly at him over Stiles’ shoulder. They don’t move for hours.

 

*

“Are you okay?” Stiles asks, nudging Derek’s thigh with his toe from where he’s sprawled across the bed.

It’s a random question because Derek doesn’t think he’s done anything out of the ordinary today to make Stiles think he’s not okay. He’s been sitting on the bed for the past hour; reading but not paying much attention, while Stiles has been tossing and turning non-stop, trying to get comfortable.

“I’m fine, why?”

Stiles huffs and pokes his thigh again, “I don’t mean  _right now_. I mean in general. Y’know when you left things weren’t exactly…good.”

Derek refuses to acknowledge the way his heart clenches. He knows how fiercely protective Stiles is of the people he cares about and how he worries about them. Derek just isn’t used to being one of those people – he wasn’t even sure he  _was_ one of those people.

“I’m fine, Stiles,” he assures.

“Bullshit,” Stiles exclaims. “No one ever says “I’m fine” and means it.”

There’s something about the way Stiles says it that makes Derek set his book down and reach over for Stiles’ hand, pulling him until Stiles gets the message and rearranges his position so he’s curled into Derek’s side.

“One night when Cora and I were staying at a crappy motel, we stayed up all night and talked about everything.” He starts trailing his fingers up Stiles’ arm, mostly for something to do with his hands but partly because he needs to distract himself from what he’s saying. “I started with Paige and finished with what happened in the last few months and she told me how she escaped the fire and what her life was like for the last six and a half years.”

“Did it make you feel better?” Stiles asks, drawing his own patterns on Derek’s stomach with his fingers.

Derek thinks hard before he answers. Every time he’s tried to explain to Cora what that night meant for him it comes out a jumbled mess. She always understood though. “It’s like…y’know when you told your dad about werewolves, and it didn’t make you feel less guilty or change the situation but it was still like this giant weight had been lifted. Like maybe things didn’t have to be awful all the time.”

“I get it,” Stiles nods. “It doesn’t hurt as much but it still hurts.”

Derek’s starting to finally understand why this thing between him and Stiles works; they’re different in a lot of ways but there’s a part of Derek that’s also a part of Stiles. A part of great loss and empathy and guilt and understanding. Derek’s never known anyone else who comprehends any of that like he does. But Stiles does. And it’s taken him a long time to realise that.

“Yeah,” he agrees.

 

*

Isaac comes over by himself for the first time when Derek’s been home a month. He brings take-out and they marathon the Spiderman movies because Derek knows they’re Isaac’s favourite.

Somewhere between the first movie and the second one of them makes some inconsequential remark and it’s like the floodgates open. Isaac’s the first one to apologise and Derek’s not even sure what Isaac has to apologise  _for_.

“That night you saved Cora,” he clarifies. “I was too harsh; it was out of line.”

“It was true,” Derek corrects. “You had every right to lash out at me like that.”

There’s a few moments of uncomfortable silence where Derek can tell Isaac wants to protest – if only out of politeness.

“I’m sorry for giving you this life,” Derek says and there. It’s done. He’s said the thing he’s been working up the courage to say for almost a year. He learned pretty quickly after biting the betas that he’d probably made a mistake – not because he didn’t want them in his life but because he didn’t want them to _have_ his life.

“I’m not,” Isaac replies, a small smile playing at his lips. “You saved me from my dad and gave me a whole new family.”

“I don’t think I was exactly instrumental in Scott becoming your friend. Or- I was for all the wrong reasons.”

Isaac laughs softly, “I’m not just talking about Scott. I mean Erica and Boyd too. And you,” he adds more quietly. “If you’d told me this time last year that I’d be eating lunch with Scott, Stiles, Lydia and Allison every day and that I wouldn’t be afraid to go home at the end of the day I would’ve laughed in your face. None of this would’ve been possible without you. So maybe I didn’t know exactly what I was getting into when I agreed to the bite. I just thought anything had to be better than the life I had. And I was right.”

“Part of the reason I chose your three was because I knew you wouldn’t say no,” Derek admits ashamedly. “But also because I saw how crappy your lives were and I just…I wanted to try and make it better.”

“We know,” Isaac promises, reaching out to squeeze Derek’s shoulder.

 

*

It’s a Wednesday when Stiles kisses him. They’re lying face to face on the bed, talking just for the sake of talking when Stiles shuffles forward. It’s a brush of lips so light it could almost be considered an accident and it hardly lasts a breath. But it makes Derek shiver.

“Why’d you do that?” he asks, his voice barely above a whisper.

Stiles quirks a half-smile that seems far too at ease to be mischievous, “I wanted to.”

Derek nods faintly before curving forward and capturing Stiles’ lips in a real kiss and Stiles sighs contentedly into his mouth, letting Derek roll him onto his back. Their kisses are soft and short but linger just a bit too long that it’s almost teasing. And Derek revels in the way the tension just bleeds out of Stiles with each press of their lips. It’s enough to keep him repeatedly ducking back in for more.

It could be minutes or hours or months later when Derek finally nuzzles Stiles’ cheek and settles his weight comfortably on top of him, whispering for Stiles to go to sleep.

It’s the first time Derek’s ever seen him fall asleep with a smile on his face.

 

*

The Saturday after Stiles kisses him everyone comes over to Derek’s apartment – he doesn’t really get a say to be honest, Scott and Stiles invite them over for a movie and just assume Derek won’t mind. (He doesn’t)

As far as Derek knows, Scott is the only one who knows about him and Stiles – whatever the hell they are – and that’s only because Derek knows for a fact that Stiles told Scott on one of their three-hour-long phone calls that they have when Scott can’t stay the night.

Even though he knows that the pack are none the wiser, he still expects them to notice. But Lydia sits primly between Stiles and Derek without a second thought while Allison squishes in between Stiles and the arm-rest and Scott and Isaac graciously take the floor.

Derek can’t help but notice how much more at ease Scott, Stiles and Allison are when they’re together. It’s the least restless he’s seen Scott and Stiles in a long time.

They all make idle chitchat but everyone’s attention is mostly directed to the TV. Lydia pauses the movie halfway through and declares that she’s making more popcorn so the rest of them have exactly three minutes if they need a bathroom break. Allison trails after her to the kitchen, rolling her eyes fondly as Isaac bolts out of his seat to run down the hall to Derek’s bathroom.

Stiles needs no further incentive to clamber across the couch and tuck himself into Derek’s side, throwing his legs over Derek’s lap. Derek would say something about it if it weren’t for the little contented sigh Stiles lets out as his head falls against Derek’s chest. Scott rolls his eyes at them but Derek can see him trying to hide his smile.

Isaac comes back, affording them both a smirk and mutters, “I knew it,” before he sits back down. When Lydia and Allison return Lydia raises her eyebrows but makes no further comment as she accepts her new place between Stiles and Allison. Derek catches Allison watching them out of the corner of his eye and doesn’t miss the way she dimples at them before she returns her attention to the screen.

And that’s the end of it. There’s no comments. No one says Derek is the worst thing that could happen to Stiles. No one says this will end in disaster. No one says it’s wrong. They all just accept it. They even look happy about it. Derek supposes he could do worse for friends – is he allowed to call them his friends yet?

He looks around the room and sees Lydia and Allison whispering about how hot the lead in whatever stupid movie they’re watching is, Isaac’s eavesdropping on their conversation – and pretending not to, if the way he smiles sheepishly when he catches Derek’s eye is anything to go by – and Stiles is throwing popcorn into the air for Scott to catch with his mouth.

He thinks yeah, he can probably call them his friends.

 

*

“Do you think we deserve this?” Stiles asks as Derek settles behind him, winding an arm around Stiles’ middle.

Derek’s quiet for a few minutes before he answers, “I think you deserve better.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

Derek sighs and hooks his chin over Stiles’ shoulder, “I think we both deserve a break.”

Stiles hums in agreement, trailing his fingers along Derek’s arm. “I think so too.” He swivels in Derek’s arms until they’re facing one another and looks into his eyes with a steady gaze. “I want to be your break.”

Of all the things Stiles has ever said to Derek, Derek doesn’t think he’s actually ever made him speechless. But what does he even say to that? How could he possibly find any words capable of explaining to Stiles how much hearing that means to him?

In the end, he settles for a quiet smile and nods, tipping his head forward just enough to graze Stiles’ lips. When he pulls back Stiles gives him a satisfied smile and twists back into his original position, curling Derek’s arms tighter around him.

It’s the first moment of utter fulfilment Derek’s had in years.

 

*

He’s been home three months when he’s in his living room with Stiles and Stiles is eyeing the photos on the wall again – Stiles put up a picture of himself and Derek a month ago but Derek took it down almost immediately and moved it to his bedside table.

“You need a picture with your new pack,” Stiles decides and Derek can already hear him texting someone.

“What are you talking about?”

“Well you have pictures of your family and of you and Laura and then of you, Erica, Isaac and Boyd and then you and Cora,” Stiles explains. “What about the rest of us?”

The last couple of months have been better. Stiles still has nightmares but they only happen every so often and he’s able to spend the night alone now. Scott’s fully adjusted to his role as alpha and he seems much happier, as does Allison – though that might have something to do with them rekindling their relationship. Honestly, everything just feels settled. The supernatural world might not be stable but their relationships are and it makes things monumentally easier than before.

“Defeating pixies isn’t exactly a Kodak moment, Stiles,” Derek counters sarcastically.

Stiles huffs and flops down onto the couch next to Derek, shuffling around until his head’s in Derek’s lap. “Whatever. I just mass-texted the others; they’re coming over and we’re taking a picture for your wall.”

The picture looks like it didn’t make the cut for their family Christmas card and it sits in the most obnoxious frame of all time – Lydia and Allison decided to paint it the colours of the rainbow, Isaac thought it needed glitter and Scott and Stiles contributed with wolf stickers – but Derek feels stupidly proud of it. Because Stiles is sitting on his lap, planting a kiss on Derek’s cheek while Derek tries not to laugh and Lydia’s messing up Isaac’s curls while Scott and Allison pretend to growl at the screen (it’s an inside joke apparently) and they all look happy.

And y’know what? The tightness in Derek’s chest is gone and for once, everything feels like it’s going to be okay.  _For once_ , he feels like he has a home.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I started this just after the mid-season finale when Mr Davis basically presented us with the best fic prompt of all time so yes, I know there have been a million and one versions of this but I never get tired of reading them so. Also I like any excuse to make Stiles and Derek hug. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it <3
> 
> You know the drill, all characters do not belong to me! And you can find me on tumblr at [ allyasavedtheday](http://allyasavedtheday.tumblr.com/) :)
> 
> The title comes from the song Home by Gabrielle Aplin (tbh like half my fics are inspired by Gabrielle Aplin songs)


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